S01 E08 - The Filthy Claws of Sin Part 1

Synopsis
After leveling up, Sildar Hallwinter sends the Dames off to find one of their new acquaintances and are reminded that the woods are dark and scary.

More Missing People
The players start the episode discussing what their characters gained in their most recent level up. Rose Lao has established herself in the monastic tradition of the four elements. She now has the fist of unbroken air and elemental attunement disciplines. Riot Bonezerker is a monster slayer ranger and learns the protection from evil and good and goodberry spells. Nevar Moor picks up several new handy spells as well: invisibility, mage hand, message, and ray of frost.

As Riot posts a scroll on the town board with a drawing of a triton, a lythari, and a yuan-ti—her missing dungeon siblings—Sildar Hallwinter approaches her. He notes that he had seen Riot talking with Delsy, who met with him afterward about a dream. She said the dream is what had led her to Phandalin and that it showed her dreamstones in Neverwinter Wood. Sildar informs Riot that Neverwinter Wood is extremely dangerous and that two children, Milack and Ephenia, had disappeared there and still have not been found. He fears Delsy may have wandered off and is now lost as well and asks Riot if the Dames would help find her.

Two Sides of the Same Coin
The Dames take off for the southern end of Neverwinter Wood based on the directions Sildar Hallwinter provided them.

After walking for awhile, they come across a strange cluster of butterflies fluttering near the path. Rose Lao clears them away with a small gust of wind, which reveals a large clear gem the size of a human fist—the dreamstone. Nevar Moor attempts to use mage hand to touch it, but before the hand can get close, the gemstone shows a vision. A beautiful elven woman with dark hair presents them with a riddle about butterflies. A voice is heard in the Dames's heads:"One butterfly as red as blood""Three butterflies as orange as sunset""Four butterflies as yellow as gold""Seven butterflies as green as leaves""Eleven butterflies as blue as water""What two colors are the rest of butterflies? And how many of each color butterflies are there?"When Rose responds incorrectly to the riddle by saying "purple" instead of "violet," the wings of the butterflies become razor sharp and slice at the Dames. Riot Bonezerker gets the riddle correct on their second try and the elven woman speaks again:"That is correct. You are wise. You must know that beauty and hideousness, innocence and guilt, peace and violence—these are all sides of the same coin. When that coin is tossed, it can land on either side. Speak the names of the two innocents to free them from their fate."The stone fades and then Nevar says the names of the two lost children, Milack and Ephenia, but nothing happens. The Dames decide to move on, leaving the gemstone on the path.

A Nightmare in Neverwinter Wood
Out of nowhere, a thick cloud of darkness surrounds them and even Rose's torch cannot illuminate it. In the darkness, a black light radiates, which rises from the ground and moves in their direction. Its appearance is that of the previous crystal except it is black instead of clear. They hear the voices of screaming children and then the light of the crystal creates the form of Milack and Ephenia, who merge together into a horrid doglike creature with two heads and eight limbs. The creature attacks.

The Dames struggle through a first round of combat when three more of these creatures show up. Rose uses her monk abilities to get closer to the stone, hoping it would cause it to animate like the previous stone had, but to no avail. Nevar Moor sends Quoth to dive bomb the crystal, but rolls a natural 1. The four creatures take a turn and then Nevar turns herself invisible in order to get closer to the stone, but again nothing happens. The battle continues with the Dames and the creatures trading blows until Nevar thinks to speak the names "Milack" and "Ephenia" out loud. The creatures transform into death dogs, which the Dames have an easier time landing hits on.

When the final death dog collapses to the ground and disappears, two children appear in its place.

PCs

 * Nevar Moor played by Essie Hollman
 * Riot Bonezerker played by Jen Vaughn
 * Rose Lao played by Meris Mullaley

NPCs

 * Ephenia
 * Milack
 * Sildar Hallwinter played by Brittni Liyanage



Visited

 * Neverwinter Wood
 * Phandalin



Quotes

 * "I don't see anything on the board here . . . But I will ask around, and, uh, when you get back, if the children are in tow, we'll make a deal out of something. That sounds like I'm buying the children, and I don't want it to seem like that. I've got enough of those!" - Sildar Hallwinter (14:57)
 * "Tally ho, and all that stuff . . . friend!" - Riot Bonezerker (39:44)



Trivia

 * Sildar Hallwinter's Racquetball games take place on Wednesday evenings